Thursday, October 16, 2014

So I wrote this massive Pascal program back in college for my Artificial Intelligence class, but things happen over time. Floppy disks go bad. Computers don't have floppy disk drives anymore. And what about DOS? No one can type

A:\>CASTLE

No one even knows what an A prompt is!

I always loved the CASTLE OF DOOM! game. I had visions of buying an external floppy drive and finding a way to make it work, but then it occurred to me.

I could recode it on SCRATCH! I could make the graphics prettier. I could make the randomization better. And CODING IS FUN!

Monday, October 13, 2014

I'm thrilled to share a wonderful review for TUT: THE STORY OF MY IMMORTAL LIFE (Starscape/Tor, September 16, 2014) from Booklist!"Family jealousy and a thirst for revenge drive Hoover’s historical fantasy featuring Tutankhamen, king of Egypt, trapped forever as a 14-year-old ... Hoover’s fun interpretations of Egyptian gods and goddesses, frenetic pace, and appropriately modern snark propel this highly entertaining adventure."Thank you so much, Booklist!

Totally a real person from history! I've loved King Tut since I saw his exhibit in 1976. Of course in my story, he is fourteen forever, so there's definitely some fiction going on.

3) When and where is the story set?

There are a couple chapters set in Ancient Egypt, and then just like (ancient Egyptian) magic, the rest of the story takes place in Modern Day Washington, D.C.

4) What should we know about him/her?

He's witty and sarcastic and much like every other fourteen year old you know, except (in case you didn't get this from the title) immortal. :)

5) What is the main conflict? What messes up his/her life?

Everything is great in King Tut's immortal life until his crazy Uncle Horemheb shows up. Turns out Uncle Horemheb is the one who's been locked in the tomb for 3000 years, so he's a bit upset about that and is totally out for revenge.

You’d think it would be great being an Egyptian demigod, but if King Tut has to sit through eighth grade one more time, he’ll mummify himself.Granted the gift of immortality by the gods—or is it a curse?—Tut has been stuck in middle school for ages. Even worse, evil General Horemheb, the man who killed Tut’s father and whom Tut imprisoned in a tomb for three thousand years, is out and after him. The general is in league with the Cult of Set, a bunch of guys who worship one of the scariest gods of the Egyptian pantheon—Set, the god of Chaos.The General and the Cult of Set have plans for Tut… and if Tut doesn’t find a way to keep out of their clutches, he’ll never make it to the afterworld alive.

***

Thank you for reading, and thank you, Barrie, for sharing the blog tour with me!

Thursday, October 02, 2014

Hi! P. J. Hoover here, author of the dystopian/mythology YA novel, SOLSTICE (Tor Teen, June 18, 2013) and the brand new MG novel TUT: THE STORY OF MY IMMORTAL LIFE (Starscape/Macmillan, September 2014), and I'm crazy excited to host this stop for the YA Scavenger Hunt!

(and p.s. I'm so excited that I'm giving away a second copy of SOLSTICE along with a copy of TUT below, so make sure to check it out!)

Hi! Thanks for visiting!

This tri-annual event was first organized by author Colleen Houck
as a way to give readers a chance to gain access to exclusive bonus
material from their favorite authors...and a chance to win some awesome
prizes! At this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from
each author, you also get a clue for the hunt. Add up the clues, and you
can enter for our prize--one lucky winner will receive one signed book from each author on the hunt in my team!But play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online for 72 hours!

Go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page to find out all about the hunt. There are SIX contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter one or all! I am a part of the BLUE TEAM--but there are also a bunch of other colored teams for a chance to win a different sets of books!

If you'd like to find out more about the hunt, see links to all the
authors participating, and see the full list of prizes up for grabs, go
to the YA Scavenger Hunt homepage.

*** SCAVENGER HUNT PUZZLE ***

Directions: Below, you'll notice that I've listed my secret number. Collect the secret numbers of all the authors on the blue team, and then add them up (don't worry, you can use a calculator!).

Rules: Open internationally, anyone below the age of 18 should
have a parent or guardian's permission to enter. To be eligible for the
grand prize, you must submit the completed entry form by October 5th, at
noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without
contact information will not be considered.

And if her book sounds like something right up your alley (which of course it does), you can buy it here!

***

EXCLUSIVE CONTENT

ABOUT Anomaly:

After a freaky day, Josie, a scifi dork intellectual, learns a popular quantum physics theory is in fact real and she's at the center of it. Reid, a smart-ass hottie, is her trainer, educating her on their secret race and teaching her how to manipulate reality with her body and thoughts. To simplify it, it's similar to the Matrix meets Divergent in contemporary high school.

The exclusive content here is awesome! IT'S AN EXCERPT FROM Anomaly! You can't ask for anything better than that! Enjoy :)

***

I walked a few feet to the yoga studio, Josie followed and stood in the doorway. She looked totally drained. “Really?”
“Yup.” I sat and patted the floor next to me, which earned me an eye roll.
She plopped down, not making eye contact. “Where’s Hannah?” I whispered.
Still not looking at me, she carefully placed her towel in its exact place, and checked her phone. “She texted. Not gonna make it tonight.”
“Mmmm. Lucky you then.” I pointed to the sign on the door. “It’s partner night.”
Josie’s face swung to mine, her eyebrows arched high. I gave her my best “in your face” smile.
“Well, I don’t have water.” She was looking for excuses.
“Yeah, you do.” I tipped my head to the floor between us, to the bottle of water that wasn’t there just a moment before. Her head shook as she bit away a smile.
The class started with slow stretching, working our way up to sun salutations. It was hard for me to concentrate. I watched Josie lower herself to the floor with control and strength, hover just above the mat then thrust her hips forward into upward dog, pushing her back into a beautiful arch.
Holy hell.
The instructor turned the music down with the remote control and said, “Find your partner for the night, the one who will help you identify if we are engaging your core.” She switched the music to a contemporary song with a heavy beat, far from our usual flute and steel drums yoga tunes.
Josie, still avoiding my gaze, got into Warrior I position, her front knee bent and arms reaching for the ceiling. The yoga teacher instructed us to first check the position as a whole before moving onto the abs. Partners, all women, stood behind the other placing their hands on the others hip bones, making sure they pointed forward. Moving behind Josie, I straddled her extended leg, watching her back expand and contract as she breathed. Easing closer, I slid my hands around to the front of her hips. Josie dragged in a rugged breath as I leaned into her. I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to stop the dizziness initiated by her gardenia perfume and surge of energy rushing through my veins. The very essence and proximity of her gave me a natural high. Opening my eyes, I was surprised to find Josie’s irises locked on mine, almost daring me.
The instructor weaved through the yogi pairs. “Let’s check to make sure those ribs aren’t popping out. We want the abdominals fully engaged, not letting the torso arch or break.” She illustrated on a student and expected us to the do same to our partners.
Josie focused on the front of the room as my right hand skimmed over her tank, just under her chest. My fingers drifted over her ribs to her stomach, my lips close to her ear. “You’re connected,” I whispered.
Her intense gaze hung on mine in the mirror as my hand hesitated over her navel, my chest pushed against her back. For a moment, my heart and breath stopped. Time seemed to slow and the world around slipped away. It was in her eyes – questions and confusion, but also a longing.
“Switch,” the instructor yelled.
Josie’s body flinched under me and her cheeks darkened, a sliver of a smile playing on her lips. She cleared her throat and turned her head toward my face so my nose, lips, and chin brushed her cheek. Then she stepped out of her stance, away from me.
Facing me, she smiled. “You’re turn, pretty boy.”
I settled into the position. Josie’s warm hands swept over my shoulders and pulled down. I was not prepared for her hands to be anywhere besides my stomach. “Relax,” she whispered behind me. “Pull down your latissimi dorsi muscles, it’ll create more space between your shoulders and ears.” Two fingers skated down my lats on each side, making my spine straighten more and the air in my lungs rush out in surprise.
Her hands wrapped around my hips, her fingers searching for the edge of the hip bones. Once she literally held my hips in her hands, she twisted them to the front of the room in one quick, rough motion. My blood was sure to boil and cook me from the inside out.
Her hot hand shot over my ribs, her fingers spread wide then crept down my shirt to my lower abs. She popped up to her tip toes and whispered, “Your ribs aren’t popping. It feels engaged. Do you feel the connection?”
Keeping my body directed to the mirror in front of us, I watched her. “You have no. I. Dea.” I turned my head over my shoulder and she was right there, our noses almost touching. I could feel her chest expanding faster against my back as her lips parted ever so slightly. Her always serious, calculating face waivered for a second, like when it was her turn. I wasn’t sure what I’d caught a glimpse of, but I liked it.
The rest of class continued, Josie avoiding more contact at all costs. I now had a new goal in addition to everything else: Make whatever flashed across Josie’s face appear more often.

***

And don't forget to enter the contest for a chance to win a ton of
signed books by me, Tonya Kuper, and more! To enter, you need to know
that my secret number is 13. Add up all the secret numbers of the authors on the blue team and you'll have all the secret code to enter for the grand prize!

CONTINUE THE HUNT

To keep going on your quest for the hunt, you need to check out the next author!

In celebration of the Scavenger Hunt, I'm offering up a second copy of SOLSTICE (Tor Teen, June 18, 2013) along with a copy of TUT: THE STORY OF MY IMMORTAL LIFE (Starscape/Macmillan, September 2014) here (US only).

Piper's world is dying. Each day brings hotter temperatures and heat
bubbles that threaten to destroy the earth. Amid this global heating
crisis, Piper lives under the oppressive rule of her mother, who
suffocates her even more than the weather does. Everything changes on
her eighteenth birthday, when her mother is called away on a mysterious
errand and Piper seizes her first opportunity for freedom.

Piper discovers a universe she never knew existed—a sphere of gods
and monsters—and realizes that her world is not the only one in crisis.
While gods battle for control of the Underworld, Piper’s life spirals
out of control as she struggles to find the answer to the secret that
has been kept from her since birth.

You’d think it would be great being an Egyptian demigod, but if King Tut has to sit through eighth grade one more time, he’ll mummify himself.Granted the gift of immortality by the gods—or is it a curse?—Tut has been stuck in middle school for ages. Even worse, evil General Horemheb, the man who killed Tut’s father and whom Tut imprisoned in a tomb for three thousand years, is out and after him. The general is in league with the Cult of Set, a bunch of guys who worship one of the scariest gods of the Egyptian pantheon—Set, the god of Chaos.The General and the Cult of Set have plans for Tut… and if Tut doesn’t find a way to keep out of their clutches, he’ll never make it to the afterworld alive.

***

And one more time...

CONTINUE THE HUNT

To keep going on your quest for the hunt, you need to check out the next author!